The Fallen and the Shadows
by Kelrisathefiredemoness
Summary: The Fallen and Shadows. Celestial beings that were corrupted by the darkness and sealed away by past Celestial wizards but now the gate is breaking. Haruki, a girl who had been trapped in the Dark World, escapes and is told to find the ones who hold the Zodiac keys. Will they be able to seal the gate in time? Pairings will be listed in chapter 2.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own fairy Tail! I only own my OCs.**

She wasn't sure what exactly had happened. Probably because she hadn't thought the situation through carefully enough. All she could remember was a blur of emotion and an image of a dark figure carrying away someone. Someone important to her. Who was it? Where were they now? Why had she felt so afraid for them? Her memory of the last day was too fragmented to know the answers.

Her head shot up from where it had been cradled in her hands. Panic showed through her yellow eyes as she quickly stood up and observed her surroundings, her heart nearly stopping as she realized where she was. Or, more like wasn't. No, this place wasn't Earthland. There were no stars in the dark sky, no plants to be seen, just a barren wasteland with a red moon providing the only light in this dark world. A world she had only read about in books. One filled with those who were Fallen or Shadows. One with no way to leave unless someone on Earthland opened the gate. Why had she come here? Then it all rushed back.

Lupus!

She whirled around, brushing her long, midnight blue hair out of her eyes impatiently. Had she managed to save Lupus? Or, did they…had she…had they corrupted her? Faster and faster, her heart sped up as she searched for any sign of the large wolf who acted like a mother to her. Where was she? Had that Fallen actually managed to corrupt Lupus? She staggered around, not daring to call out for fear of attracting the attention of a Fallen or Shadow. There was a jingle as her foot hit something and she winced, hoping nothing else had heard it. Yellow eyes were directed downwards and lit up in joy as she recognized the keys she used to summon the ones she called her friends and family.

"Thank goodness," she breathed, bending down to grab the key ring that held them all.

After checking each one of them, she looked closer at Lupus's key. The handle looked like a wolf's tail and the end had what looked fangs coming off of it. She held it gingerly, searching for any sign of corruption on the dark blue key with a moon engraved on the handle. Nothing. Lupus had escaped the darkness of the Fallen. Her legs gave out under her and she fell to the ground, tears of relief blurring her vision.

"You're okay," she put a trembling hand over her mouth to muffle the sobs escaping her. "I…I saved you. Thank…thank goodness."

Clutching her keys tightly to her chest, she tried to reign in her emotions. They weren't out if the fire yet. Now, they were in enemy territory. A place filled with beings that want to drag others down to their level of corruption. Those who wanted to taint the Celestial Spirits they once called their brethren.

"Haruki, can you hear me?" The familiar growling voice echoed in her head. "Where are you? Are you unharmed?"

"I'm okay and as to where I am. "Haruki took a deep breath. "The Dark World. The Empty World. Whatever you call it, that's where I am."

Silence, and then, "Foolish, pup! Why are you there?!"

Haruki winced, glad nothing else could hear the furious spirit, "I jumped in after you and that Fallen. After you were grabbed, I'd tried force closing your gate, but it didn't work until I went through the gate."

A sigh, "Pup, you should have just left me."

"You know me, Lupus. That isn't even an option." She smiled sweetly at the key even though Lupus wouldn't be able to see.

"Foolish, naïve, pup! You can't leave that palace now! The other Celestial Spirits and wizards have closed the gates!"

"So…I'm stuck?"

There was a pause before Lupus answered, "Yes. We can't get you out." Her voice was solemn.

"Well, that's okay. As long as all of you are okay, I'll be fine,"

She wasn't sure if she was trying to convince them or herself.

_Line Break_

Days, years, hours. How many had passed? Haruki wasn't sure. The sky never changed, the moon never moved, and she hadn't aged at all. For all she knew, centuries could have passed on Earthland and only seconds here, but with no way to tell time she remained unaware. Although, she didn't care as much about that as she did about surviving. It was only when she could rest did she even think about time. And those rests were few compared to all the running and fighting she's had to do. Right now she was taking a much needed rest and eating an apple, a bottle of water sitting next to her.

Her Spirits had been getting food and water for her, when she could rest, from the Celestial Spirit World. This had been going on since they discovered no food grew in the Dark World and no water could be found, but Haruki had still grown hungry and thirsty. It seemed strange to her that no plants grew, but it made sense there were no animals. No normal animal could survive against a Fallen or a Shadow. In all honesty, she was surprised she had survived the many encounters she'd had with the Fallen and Shadows.

The hair on the back of her neck stood up as screeching started in the distance and she gripped the sword lying next to her with her right hand. It had been a gift from Draco, another one of her Celestial Spirits. Since she refused to call them unless there as a last resort, he had insisted that she use the sword and left it there with her before she could respond. The sword had saved her life many a time and she had thanked Draco for it. She had also mentally thanked her brother who had taught her how to use a sword, even when she had complained that she didn't want to learn how to use one.

She gazed down at the sword, noting that all the fighting had not marred the blue-gray steel and that the runes were still very noticeable on the blade. The pommel was dark blue with a white stone the shape of an eight pointed star in the center and she caressed it. Draco had not informed her of the sword's name, but she wished she had. After all, she wouldn't have lived this long without it.

"Haruki, you need to sleep," Draco's deep voice cut through her thoughts and she brushed a hand against his key.

"I can't yet," she responded, finishing off her apple.

"You're resting right now. This would be a good chance to regain more of your energy." Draco told her.

"I could have to run at any moment though," she argued, trying to keep the weariness out of her voice that had popped up when Draco mentioned sleep.

"Which is why you call one of us to watch over you," he reminded her in exasperation.

"If I do, will you promise to wake me up when they get close this time instead of fighting them by yourself?"

"Haruki-"

"Promise me, Draco," her normally soft voce hardened slightly.

"Fine," the dragon sounded grumpy, but she knew he wouldn't break a promise. "I promise. Now summon me and go to sleep."

"No dragon form, Draco," she told him. "It attracts too much attention."

"I'm stronger as a dragon."

"True, but they'll see you from a mile away."

"Fine, just summon me, youngling. You'll need all the sleep you can get."

"I know. The very air has started to feel tense. Something bad may happen soon. Open! Gate of the Dragon, Draco!"

In a flash of light she winced at, a young man appeared. He had short, spiky blonde hair and black eyes. Red scales surrounded his eyes and ran down his cheeks to the side and the back of his neck. More red scales went from his upper arms and mid-thigh to his hands and feet, but instead of human hands and feet he had a claws. Baggy black pants covered his lower half and a tight, short sleeved dark blue shirt covered his torso while his feet were bare. That ever present smirk and the challenge in his eyes relaxed Haruki, the knowledge that she had him watching over her decreasing her stress.

They moved over to a large boulder and hid behind it, "Sleep, young one. I'll keep watch." He said as they sat down

Haruki nodded and curled up on the ground, falling asleep as soon as her eyes closed. Draco watched her for a moment before looking up at the dark, cloudless sky. Occasionally he sniffed the air for any enemies, but he mostly relied on his hearing. It frustrated him, not knowing the time on this world. As far as they all knew, the red moon always stayed directly above them. It had never moved, not once.

He started as Haruki shifted in her sleep and concern flashed briefly in his eyes before disappearing when he saw her shivering. To him it didn't feel cold, but all she had was a worn, once-white, short sleeved shirt and dark brown capris that had several tears. That, plus her human skin, couldn't fully protect her from the cold and he found himself pulling her into his side. Large wings he usually kept hidden in this from, as well as his tail, appeared to help cover her and keep her warm. She soon stopped shivering and he resumed his watch, making a mental note to see if Andromeda could make some clothes for her and to get more food and water for her. She was starting to get too thin.

_Line Break_

Gasping could be heard as she sprinted away from her enemy, a Shadow with claws and malicious green eyes. She struggled to breathe, each breath hurting her raw throat. Pain shot through her side and she cursed her bad luck at getting a stitch in her side. She tried to keep her speed or go faster, but her body had been pushed to its limit. With a cry, she fell as he legs gave out and she skinned her hands and knees. Desperately, she tried to stand again. By now she normally would have summoned one of her spirits to help, but what had almost happened after the last fight…she couldn't. She couldn't put them in that much danger. Not again.

A trembling hand reached for the sword strapped to her waist. She wouldn't go down without a fight. It wouldn't be much of a fight, but it would be a fight. Unfortunately, before she could fully draw her sword a searing pain ripped through her back and she screamed in surprise and agony. Voices filled her head, begging or commanding her to summon them so they could help her, but she couldn't pay any attention to them as the Shadow picked her up by her hair. Its cold breath bathed the back of her neck and tears filled her eyes. This was it. The end of her life. She had failed. Her friends' keys would be stuck in this horrible world and her body would forever lay there, forgotten. Or she would be eaten. Either way.

"Haruki!"

The last thing she saw was a flash of light and a beautiful young woman with broken chains connected to manacles on her feet, wrists and neck.

_Line Break_

To her surprise, her eyes opened to see a large wall of rock. Her sight was blurry and everything hurt, but that just cemented the fact that she had somehow lived. Confusion fully settled inside of her when she realized she had a couple of blankets thrown over her and yet she was shivering.

"Are you awake?" the gentle, warm voice to her side caused her to turn her head in the other direction. "Don't move too much. Your back is still hurt and you have a fever. I know you don't like being on your side or stomach, but you can't lay on those wounds."

She hadn't even noticed she was on her stomach, but that fact got pushed to the back of her mind, "A…Andro…Andromeda…"

"Shh. Don't talk. Just focus on getting better." A cool hand rested against her forehead. "Sill too hot."

Haruki faded back out, sleep pulling her back under.

 **A/N: So what did everyone think? Please review, follow, and/or favorite. Also I haven't mentioned this on my other fanfictions though I assume I should but I am not able to be PMed so if you have any questions just leave a review and I will try to answer them in the next chapter's author note. Have a good day everyone and see you next time! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hi everyone! So I should probably warn you all now that I won't have regular updates for this or any of the other fanfictions I write. I'm bad about planning anything and actually doing what I plan to do at the time I said I would do it. Anyways I hope you all enjoy this chapter! Pairings will be listed at the end.**

 **Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Fairy Tail but I do own my OCs.**

When she woke again, Haruki felt a lot better. Her back only slightly hurt, and the pain in her head was all but gone. Shakily, she tried to push herself up so that she could sit on her makeshift bed, only to be pushed back down.

"You can't move too much yet, young one, so just stay there until Andromeda gets back."

"Draco?" She rasped, her throat a little sore.

"Yeah, I'm here. Don't do that again."

"I won't try to get up again," she told him. "Not after you shoved me back down."

"Humph," he sounded displeased and she wondered why.

Neither spoke after that. Draco sat on the ground next to her, glaring at the far wall of the cave they seemed to be in. Haruki looked around, trying to figure out how she had ended up in a cave and how Draco was out without her summoning him. There was also the question of how Andromeda would get back without her summoning her. She wanted to ask, but after a glance in Draco's direction, she decided she would ask Andromeda instead when she got back. After all, Andromeda was less likely to hit or scold Haruki while she was injured. They sat in silence until a flash of light appeared by her.

"It is good to see you awake, Haruki. I was starting to get worried." Andromeda smiled brightly, happiness and relief clear in her sky blue eyes.

"Sorry," she apologized. "I didn't mean to worry you."

"Don't apologize. You needed to heal and your body knew that," Andromeda waved her hand dismissively.

Draco stood suddenly, "I'm going back now. If anything gets near here, don't hesitate to call me." He ordered before disappearing.

Haruki looked questioningly at Andromeda when she sighed, "Stubborn lizard won't admit he was tired."

"How long have I been out?" She asked.

"I'm not sure, but long enough that he would have needed to go back soon anyways." Andromeda informed her as she helped Haruki, who hissed in pain, sit up.

Andromeda brought the cup she was holding up to Haruki's lips, refusing to let her hold it by herself. Eventually, the celestial wizard gave up and drank the cool liquid. It soothed her dry throat and she closed her eyes in relief. Too soon the water was gone and Haruki opened her eyes to give Andromeda a pitiful look.

"I'll get you more in a minute. First I need to change your bandages." Andromeda laughed.

"Fine," Haruki pouted, earning another laugh.

She reluctantly let go of the warm blanket she'd held around her and gave the loose brown shirt she was wearing an odd look. Andromeda must have changed her clothes at some point. Well, hopefully Andromeda had been the one to do it. Which reminded her, she needed to ask her friend a few questions.

"Andromeda?" Haruki began.

"Yes?"

"What happened? How are you and Draco able to be here without me summoning you? How did I not…" Haruki paused before quickly saying, "How am I not dead?"

Andromeda paused, "You fell unconscious and then got sick. As for how we are here, I'm not sure. We were all pleading with you to summon us and when you didn't…we were desperately trying to find a way to help you. I closed my eyes and my thoughts were directed entirely towards you and I wanted to save you so badly. Then I felt a tug and something felt like it broke. Next thing I knew, I was standing right in front of you and that Shadow. Your eyes were closed and I grabbed your sword to attack the Shadow."

Haruki's eyes widened, "You attacked it? Andromeda, it could have gotten you!"

"It could have, but I didn't know what else to do. It dropped you and knocked the sword from my hands before trying to corrupt me, but luckily Draco managed to appear before it could and got rid of it. Soon after, we found this cave and have been here since," Andromeda started to unwind the rest of the bandages.

"Only you and Draco can force open your gates? No one else can?"

"No one else can," Andromeda confirmed. "But they are trying. After what happened…they're scared for you. We all are."

"Shouldn't worry about me so much," Haruki mumbled.

"How can we not? Every time we look at you, we see the cute little six or ten year old we were introduced to. Take me for example. I always see the little girl who called me her big sister." Andromeda giggled when Haruki ducked her head in embarrassment.

"I'm twenty-two now, Ro!" The celestial wizard whined. "I'm not a kid!"

"Really? Could have fooled me." Andromeda teased.

Andromeda slathered a freezing cold cream onto her back and wrapped fresh bandages around her. Not long after, Haruki fell asleep with her stomach full of soup and a smile on her face.

==================================Line Break==========================================

That cave became their little hideout. Every once in a while she would leave it to search around, futilely hoping to find a way out, only to return in disappointment. The only good luck she's had so far is the knowledge that the Fallen and Shadows seemed to avoid the cave. Rarely were any seen near it, but the few that were, were not easy opponents. Though, for all that she was thankful for it, neither she, Andromeda, or Draco could figure out why. They had all searched the cave from front to back and still had no explanation. Either way, it had become a safe haven for them and Haruki couldn't pass that up.

Although, she should have realized that wouldn't last forever.

Outside the cave, the screeches of the Shadows could be heard more and more frequently and getting closer to the cave. At first, Haruki hadn't though much of it. Now, she was getting ready for a battle that had the odds stacked against them. The cave was slowly being surrounded to her dismay. The front had already been blocked off by Shadows that just sat there, as if waiting for something.

"Young one, get farther back," Draco commanded from beside her.

"What are they waiting for?" She asked, moving back only two steps.

"I don't know, but most likely nothing good," he growled, eyes never leaving the entrance.

Haruki hesitated before asking a question that had been on her mind since her near death at the hands of that Shadow, "Draco, what'll happen afterwards?"

"After what?"

"After I die. What will happen to everyone's keys? Will they be stuck here?"

"You're not going to die," he told her.

"We're outmatched and outnumbered this time, Draco. We won't be able to fight our way out of this one."

Draco shook his head, but didn't say anything. Haruki sighed and leaned against the cave wall, her hand hovering over her sword's handle. She knew he wouldn't answered her question. If he considered a question to not be relevant, he would either not answer or change the subject. Stubborn old dragon. How could he not see this was the end? Sure he and Andromeda could summon themselves, but Andromeda could only heal and Draco would eventually run out of magic and she could only summon so many spirits to help her before her own magic ran out. Plus, she didn't want to summon anyone for fear of them turning into a Shadow or Fallen.

"How is Lupus?" She asked abruptly.

"Fuming. She's still…upset that you wouldn't summon any of us. The only reason she isn't trying to lecture you through her key is because she is keeping the Akihiko calm."

That's right. Leo Minor, or Akihiko Raion as they liked to call him, would be freaking out. He hadn't seen her since she came to the Dark World, but he probably pestered the others for information. A smile brightened her somber face as she thought of that sweet little spirit. But, it disappeared quickly. If she did die, she knew the others would stay together and comfort each other, but she worried about how he would act afterwards. Would he be mad at her? Without realizing it, her thumb was rubbing the silver key as if to soothe the spirit connected to it.

The feeling of eyes on her made her aware of her action and she stopped with a blush. As soon as Draco looked away with a raised eyebrow, she stared fondly down at the key. Maybe she could summon him real quick. Say goodbye face-to-face instead of having somebody else say it for her. Tell him how glad she was to have met him and the others. Apologize that this was how it would end. Regret grew in her heart. She had never gotten to say goodbye to her brother. But she could say goodbye to some of her spirits.

"Open! Gate of the Lion Cub, Leo Minor!"

A flash of light and then a boy, who she had been told multiple times looked a lot like his older brother, appeared. He wore a blue hoodie with a yellow lion in the middle and black shorts with red and yellow shoes. The hood covered most of his spiky orange hair and his little ears, but the hood had little lion ears on the tops anyways and the sight made her giggle. He was so cute.

"Haru!" The boy cheered and tackled her in a hug.

"Hey,Akihiko. How are you?" She held him close, trying to keep the sadness out of her voice.

"I'm good! Ursa Minor and I were playing tag when you called." The boy pouted, "You haven't called me in so long, Haru!"

"Sorry. There was never a good time to call you." She apologized.

"I know. Lupus told me." His smile never faltered against her neck, but the worry in his voice was as clear as day. "Why did you call me?"

That surprised Haruki, "What? Can't I just want to see you? Must I have some ulterior motive to call you?" She gasped in mock offense.

"No! You can call me whenever you want! But…you haven't ever since you got here…" He pulled away to stare into her eyes.

"I know and I'm sorry. It's been crazy here."

Screeching started again and Draco tensed. "Haruki," he warned.

"Haruki, what's going on?" The little spirit looked at the cave entrance in fear.

"It's nothing. They're just a little more active than usual." She hated that he was afraid and gently turned his head so he was facing her. "Listen, I need to tell you something. Do you remember when I first got your key? How happy I was to meet you?"

"Yep! I'll never forget when I first met you!" He exclaimed.

"We had so many fun times, right? Will you remember those times? You and I… both playing games and so happy…" She swallowed, the lump in her throat making it hard to talk. "And…can you tell the others I said thank you?"

His hazel eyes widened, "Haru, why-?"

"And-and tell them I'm sorry! I'm sorry for getting everybody's keys stuck here! If I could I…I would get them back to Earthland, but I don't know how to and…" Her words had gotten faster and faster as she tried to say everything she wanted to. "I'm glad I got to know everyone and, if this is goodbye, just know that I love you all. You're all my family and if I could do it all again, I wouldn't change a thing unless I could have found a way to save Lupus without coming here. Otherwise I would do everything the exact same all over again."

By now Draco was waiting and prepared for the attack and Akihiko's eyes were filled with realization. Tears filled his eyes as he clung to her again.

"No! Haruki, don't leave!" He cried. "You can't!"

"Lion cub, go get Andromeda." Draco growled commandingly, his tail lashing back and forth.

"I'm not gonna leave Haru here! I wanna stay! I want her to stay!"

"Leo Minor," Draco started to warn before Haruki screamed.

"Draco, watch out!"

A Shadow came shrieking into the cave, claws outstretched to tear into Draco. Flames poured out of Draco's mouth as he roared, scorching the dark creature and sending it stumbling back out still covered in flames. Akihiko shook as he clung to her and she was forced to hold him with one hand and use her free hand to draw her sword. Another Shadow ran in with a Fallen not too far behind. Immediately, Draco attacked the mindless Shadow while the Fallen slipped past them and lunged at Haruki, who dodged to the side. She held her sword in front of her defensively as she pleaded for the little spirit to leave.

More Shadows poured in, their shadowy bodies making them look like a dark river as they scrambled over each other in an attempt to get to the three first. Draco cursed and knocked the Shadow he was fighting back before grabbing the Fallen fighting Haruki and chucking it at the wave of Shadows.

"Akihiko, you need to go back." Haruki breathed as she stared at the swarm in horror.

"Don't leave, Haru," he sniffed.

The swarm got closer and Haruki took a shaky step back, preparing herself for the end when, suddenly, the Shadows stopped. Everything was still as the three stared in shock at the horde which only stared back with sickly green eyes. The Fallen Draco had thrown slowly stood up, eagerness lighting up its green-blue eyes.

"Isss...almos'…open." it hissed brokenly.

Draco's eyes narrowed, "Young one, stay close to me."

"Draco, what's…what are they doing?" Haruki shuffled closer to Draco, sword gripped tightly in her hand.

"Leo Minor, go back and tell Andromeda to stay where she is." Draco told the boy.

"But I wanna-"

"Don't argue, just go!"

The spirit bit his lip before disappearing, leaving a surprised Haruki, "He doesn't listen to me."

"Because you're too soft on him."

Haruki couldn't argue with that, "What's happening?"

"Look behind you."

Curiosity took hold and she turned to see the cave wall behind them, shock freezing her body. Runes had appeared on the wall, outlining the shape of a closed gate. The runes were still dim, but seemed to be gradually brightening. A gate. It was a gate behind them. Did is lead to Earthland? Yearning hit her hard and she could barely breathe. That gate could lead to home.

Draco's tail wrapped around her waist, "Don't let go of me. We're going to go though. Hopefully there are wizards on the other side that can close it again." He muttered the last part to himself, never looking away from the Shadows or Fallen.

The runes started to shine bright enough to blind the cave's occupants. Hissing could be heard from the Shadows as the light hurt them and the Fallen retreated a few steps back. Rumbling started as the doors split apart. That was when Draco acted. With a deep breath, he expelled all the fire he could, buying them time to get to the gate before the Shadows and Fallen. He whirled around and dived for their only way out. Everything after that became blurry.

She remembered feeling like she was floating and then landing on something hard. There was the distant sound of angry shrieking. The only clear things were the five different voices she heard among the blurry, swirls her eyes could see and the feeling of something around her waist.

"Holy crap, a person came out of there!" Person 1 shouted incredulously.

"Is she okay? Is that a Celestial Spirit with her?" Person 2 asked frantically.

"Does it matter? We need to close the gate or else other things will come through." Person 3 reminded them sternly.

"You guys do that. I'll go check on them." Person 4 sounded worried for some reason.

"Whoa! Hey, a Fallen got through!" Person 1's voice sounded further away than before.

"Catch it!" Person 2 yelled.

"Just close the gate! We'll have to find it later!" Person 5's voice sounded from beside Haruki.

And then her vision went black and she passed out.

 **A/N: Parings will be Nalu, Gruvia, Gale, maybe Jerza (I do like this pairing but I'm not sure if Jellal will be in this.), Happy and Carla, Alzack and Bisca (This is placed after the Time Skip, but not sure if after GMG. I'll decide that in the next chapter. Asuka is in here though) LaxusxOC, and more mentioned later if I didn't remember to put them here. Thank you for favoriting/following/reviewing and/or just reading! :) See you all next chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Ello! I finally got this done during some of my classes :) I hope you all enjoy it! Also I changed Leo Minor's nickname to Akihiko instead of Sukoshi Raion…I didn't want to type that out all the time and it didn't quite fit to me.**

 **Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Fairy Tail! I do own my OCs.**

"She's been asleep for a while."

Voices filtered into her ears as she started to wake up.

"Of course she had. You would be too if you had gone through what she did." That sounded like person 4 she realized.

"Is Draco still here?" Person 2 wondered.

"No, he had to go back early this morning. If he had stayed any longer, he may have just faded away." Person 4 informed her friend.

"I thought he didn't trust us?" Huh, there was person 1.

"He doesn't, but he had no choice, Daisuke. He can't take her with him and we can help her." Person 4 told Daisuke. "Besides, you staring at him suspiciously didn't help."

"He could have been corrupted! I was just being careful." Daisuke grumbled.

"While it's good to be careful, you didn't need to…did her eyelids just twitch?" footsteps came closer to Haruki.

She tried to open her eyes, curious as to where she was. Had they ended up back in Earthland or some other place? Who were the people around her? What had happened after they went through the gate? She needed to know. Finally, she opened her eyes only to be blinded by the light. She squeezed her eyes shut with a pained whimper. The light was brighter than she was used to after being in the dark World.

"Daisuke, go turn off the light." Person 4 commanded.

"Don't boss me around," Daisuke growled, although it sounded like he moved to do what she said anyways. "You're not in charge."

"We're in the infirmary and she can heal, so she is in charge of anyone in here." Person 2 spoke up.

Haruki slowly opened her eyes again and they adjusted quickly in the dim room. A little bit of light drifted in through the open door, allowing them to see each other. The young woman stared at her with kind, but worried eyes while the two young men tensed. They seemed wary of her and Haruki didn't blame them. After all, she had come out of a portal connected to the Dark World.

"Are you okay, Haruki?" The young woman asked, and at her confused expression, added "Draco told us your name."

"Draco," Haruki mumbled, trying to get her mind to speed up. "Is he okay?"

"He's perfectly fine, just a little tired from being here so long." The young woman reassured her. "You know, you haven't answered my question."

"I'm fine. Just a little confused."

"Confused? About what?" The blonde haired young man by the door, Daisuke she realized when she heard his voice, stepped forward.

"Where I am and what happened after Draco and I came through the gate." She answered immediately, hoping they would answer her. "And…how long have I been in there?"

"I can answer the first one. You're at my house in the infirmary." The young woman smiled.

"As for your other two questions, we're going to let Izumi answer those." The other young man headed for the door. "Draco talked to her and Akahoshi more than us. By the way, I'm Fumio. It's nice to meet you." He left without another word, leaving a surprised Haruki and a slack-jawed young woman.

"I forgot to introduce myself!" The woman gasped. "I'm so sorry! My name is Megumi and this idiot is Daisuke." She held out a hand. "It's nice to meet you, Haruki."

The Celestial Wizard watched the hand for a moment, unsure of what she needed to do, when a light bulb went off in her head and she hesitantly shook the offered hand, "You too."

Megumi beamed at the unsure wizard, either not noticing or not caring how uncomfortable she looked, "So how old are you? How many keys do you have? Who do you have a contract with? Draco wouldn't tell us anything or let us see them."

Haruki felt uneasy, she didn't usually let strangers see her keys, but maybe she could make an exception for the healer, "I have 21 keys, but not all of them can attack."

Green eyes widened dramatically, "21! That's a lot of keys! Who are they?"

"Well, there's Draco, who you've met, the Canes Venatici, Leo Minor, but we call him Akihiko, Lupus Ursa Major, Lepheus, and Cetus. All of them can attack, but most of them are the Star keys and harder to summon." She missed the bewildered look in Megumi's eyes as she said that, too intent on checking all of her keys as she named them. "Then there's Cassiopeia, Chamaeleon, Pegasus, Ursa Minor, Vulpecca, Corvus, and Scutum. They don't really attack, but they can if they have to. Lastly, there's Andromeda, Volans, Circinus, Puppis, Larina, and Columba. They can't attack." She nodded to herself, relieved they were all there and safe.

"Um, Haruki, what are Star keys? I've never heard of them before." Megumi asked curiously. "Daisuke's never mentioned them either."

"That's cause I don't know anything about Star keys." Daisuke crossed his arms, blue eyes narrowed. "As far as I know, only the Zodiac keys and silver keys exist."

Haruki felt like she had been punched, "You don't know about them? But everybody does! They and the Zodiac keys are very important and…"

"And are a part of a very long story you need to hear." Unlike Megumi's kind, warm voice and Daisuke's sort of loud and irritating voice, the owner of this voice sounded commanding and serious. "Megumi, Daisuke, I need to talk to our guest alone."

Daisuke nodded, "Of course, Izumi. Should we go see Akahoshi?

"Yes."

Daisuke dragged a worried Megumi out of the room, leaving her alone with he stern faced woman. Silence reigned as they scrutinized each other. Izumi's expression gave nothing away and Haruki questioned what she would say.

"So, it sounds like you've had quite and adventure."

"Yeah, I guess you could say that," Haruki said slowly.

"Do you know how long you've been there?"

"There was no way to tell time in that place."

"I see," Izumi sighed. "I never do like to tell anyone bad news, but the others would probably start crying if you do. Listen, you've been gone a long time. About 300 years, give or take a few years. Everyone that was human that you knew, they're long dead." She was blunt, her tone holding no sympathy for the shocked Celestial Wizard. "Now as good as it would be to let you stay here and mourn, we need your help. The gates aren't saying shut anymore and we need your knowledge."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/Line Break/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Blrgh." Natsu gagged as the train lurched to a stop.

Lucy looked around in confusion. She knew they shouldn't have stopped yet, they were nowhere near a town. If anything, they were in the middle of nowhere! The others on the train peeked out of their compartments, wondering what was going on.

"Lucy, are we there?" Happy sleepily rubbed his eyes as he woke up."

"No, we shouldn't be." Lucy put away her book. "I'm gonna go see what's happening.

Natsu raised a shaky hand with a thumbs up, still not over his motion sickness, while Happy stood up and nodded. The Celestial Wizard left the compartment, having to push through a few people to get down the aisle. Up ahead, a young woman was trying to answer the frantic questions being thrown at her. Lucy somehow managed to push through the crowd and stood in front of the poor woman.

"Excuse me, miss? Is something wrong?" Lucy asked.

"Oh, um, I'll be right with you just – no, sir, I don't know when the train'll be running yet, please sit back down – I'm not sure. I haven't been able to talk to the conductor, I don't know what's going on." The woman gave her an apologetic look before being swamped again by concerned passengers.

The blonde was pushed back by the others and she frowned as she dusted off her skirt, "Maybe I should – what was that?"

A tapping sound came from above them, casing every head to turn upwards in curiosity. Dread rose inside Lucy and something in her mind screamed for her to run or call out one of her Spirits, but she didn't understand why. An animal could have made that noise, a harmless-

Metal screeched as it was torn apart by two claws.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/Line Break/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Haruki sat in shock. 300 years. Everyone, her friends, her brother, they were all dead. Only the Celestial Spirits were still around, but they could have forgotten her. She was one brief life and they were pretty much immortal. Or, at least, time couldn't touch them, other things however…

"They won't stay closed?" She asked softly, trying to push away her shock and focus at the situation at hand.

"No, and we don't know why. How were they sealed in your time?"

Haruki folded her hands, "Technically, anyone can seal them, but they've never stayed closed forever. The last I saw, we were attempting to use the Zodiac keys to keep the gates closed. How long have they been closed for?"

"About 300 years." Izumi gained a thoughtful expression. "That means, while it isn't permanent, it has certainly lasted the longest."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/Line Break/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The large animal dropped through the hole, its form resembling a lynx made entirely of shadows. Little wisps of shadow writhed around as the creature's sickly green eyes searched around. For a moment, all was silent except for the small growling coming from it. Then, the chaos began. Screaming started and everyone tried to get away from the creature. Some even broke windows and escaped the train that way.

Its eyes continued to rove until they landed on Lucy, or more specifically, Lucy's keys. With a shriek, it launched itself at her claws first with the intent to tear her apart.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/Line Break/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Yes, but they knew what we used." Haruki's eyes widened. "Any time we used something to seal the gates for a time, they would come back and try to destroy it.

Izumi cursed, "Some escaped before we could close the gate. Would they have a way to find the Zodiac keys?"

Haruki dropped her head into her hands, "I don't know. We never figured out too much about them."

"Then we must assume the worst. They have a few days head start on us."

"That may be a few days too long," Haruki informed her grimly.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/Line Break/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Watch out!" Loke appeared, light surrounding his hands as he blocked the creature.

"Loke!" Lucy cried in surprise.

"Lucy, go back to Natsu and get out of here, now! The Spirit commanded.

"I'm not leaving you here to fight alone," Lucy argued, grabbing her whip.

"Listen to what I tell you and leave! Trust me, this isn't the time for that!" he grunted as the creature took a swipe at him, managing to hit his arm.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/Line Break/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Izumi strode down the hall, Haruki, who was wearing sunglasses, close on her heels, "We have to move now, but only two of us can leave."

"Only two?" Haruki wasn't sure about that number.

"Two of us and you. It sounds like you can handle yourself pretty well in a fight from what Draco told us, so I'll send you alone."

"What? But I don't know anything about this time!" Haruki protested.

"True, but the rest of us have to stay here. Besides, we can give you a ap with directions and put you on the right train."

Haruki gnawed on her lip, thinking it over, "Okay. If that is how I can help then I will. I don't know much about sealing gates anyways. I was always one of the people defending those who did know."

"Good, because you would have gone no matter your opinion."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/Line Break/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Lucy crashed on the floor, her whip and keys skidding away from her. Loke landed further back and immediately struggled to get back up. The creature leaped over Lucy and landed next to her keys, one clawed hand picking them up.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/Line Break/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Can they infect keys or do they have to touch the Celestial Spirits directly?"

"As far as we could tell, they have to directly touch a Spirit," Haruki told Daisuke. "I only hope it stays that way or our mission may be harder then we think."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/Line Break/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" Natsu's flaming fist smashed into the creature and it wailed in agony as the flames licked at it. "Lucy, are you okay?"

"Yeah, thanks Natsu." Lucy scrambled to pick up her keys that had been dropped when Natsu hit the creature. "Loke, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, don't worry." Loke smiled wearily at her, looking a bit pale.

"What is that thing? It smells nasty." Natsu complained, plugging his nose.

"I don't know." Lucy made her way over to Natsu. "Hey, Loke, do you…he left."

Sure enough, the Celestial Spirit was nowhere to be seen.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/Line Break/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Haruki gazed at her clothes. She'd had to pick out new clothes and Megumi had kindly offered for her to take some of her clothes, all but forcing her to accept in the end. She had chosen a black tank top to wear under a gray shirt that had one long sleeve that stopped mid-forearm on the left and the right sleeve stopped at her elbow. The left sleeve belled out at the end, partially covering her hand. White capris were picked as well and dark blue, almost black, shoes. But that wasn't the only change. A glance in the mirror to her right showed long white streaks in her hair that ended at different pints in her hair, almost resembling shooting stars.

Silently, she fingered her hair that had grown to mid back, deciding to braid the bangs going to her shoulders. If she took any longer to get ready, Izumi would have her head. And she had a job to do. They couldn't waste any more time.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/Line Break/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Lucy thought about the creature, trying to remember if she had read or heard anything about it before. Neither she nor Natsu nor Happy saw the tiny black speck on Loke's key.

 **A/N: This was longer in my notebook…anyways thank you to anyone who had favorited/followed/reviewed and thank you for reading! See you all next time!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey everyone! I hope you enjoy this chapter! And please leave reviews! It would be very appreciated!**

 **Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Fairy Tail!**

This was a bad plan. Haruki stared at the map in her hands, unable to completely figure it out. Izumi had highlighted her path, but what places were these? And those streets, would she be able to find them? Plus they hadn't given her a lot of information on who she needed to find. They only told her that the Celestial Wizard she had to search for was part of a guild called Fairy Tail and was, in Daisuke's words, a "very hot female." She also had most of the golden keys. Maybe that would help her spot the wizard, as Izumi had not told her much about where to find her and the only other description she got was that she had blonde hair. But, that was about it.

Megumi assured her that the Fairy Tail guild would be easy to find once she got to Magnolia. That slightly eased her worry, but not by much. The rest of her worry shrunk with Akihiko sitting in her lap.

"This is so cool! There are so many places we can explore!" The boy radiated energy.

"There are, but we have a job to do first," Haruki reminded him.

Akihiko stuck his tongue out. "Let's call it an adventure. That sounds way more fun."

"Sure, an adventure then." She tickled his sides, reveling in his laughter.

"Stop it, Haru!" Akihiko squirmed away with a pout.

"Nope!" She grabbed him again and held him close.

He sat there with his arms crossed, a fake angry expression aimed at the seat across from them. Happy with her victory, she leaned against the window to stare out at the sky through her sunglasses. The light still stung her eyes, but Megumi thought that after a few days her eyes would adjust just fine to the light. Until then, sunglasses would be needed in the morning. At night she could see perfectly fine. They had found that out last night when she and Akihiko were playing "I Spy."

"Haru?"

"Mmhm?"

"Are you sad?" His innocent hazel eyes peered up into hers.

"Sad?" She questioned with a tilt of her head.

"Yeah. Everyone we knew is gone, but you haven't cried. Are you waiting until you can or are you keeping it in here?" He pointed to the place above her heart.

"Well, not everyone is gone. I still have you guys and my brother wouldn't want me to be sad over him. And…I think I had already accepted that I would never see them again when I was still in the Dark World." She told him honestly. "Where we were stuck there, I knew I wouldn't have a chance to see them again. Though, at that time it was because I thought would die. Either way, death did separate us. Except he'll have to wait until my time here is up. Which is unfortunate for him because he never did have any patience." She chuckled lightly, her heart a little heavier despite her words.

He didn't quite seem to believe her, but let it go. It wasn't the type of conversation to have on a train anyways. Plus two people, one supporting the other, walked by their compartment and he knew she didn't like to cry in front of others. Blue flashed by the two people's feet and Akihiko watched in fascination as a blue cat followed the people, walking on two legs instead of four. His eyes grew wide and the urge to follow the cat overwhelmed the little Spirit, not that he tried to fight it, and he hopped down from Haruki's lap to chase after the blue cat.

"Akihiko? Where are you going? Akihiko!" Haruki darted after him, wondering what he was doing running off without a word. "What are you doing? Is something wrong?"

"It's a blue kitty!" Akihiko tackled the cat who, oddly enough, started to talk.

"Natsu! Help me!" The cat gasped as Akihiko attempted to squeeze the life out of it.

"Huh?" The pink haired man swayed where he stood. "What's…urgh."

Seeing that he was of no help, the cat called another name with the little air he had left, "Lucy! Can't…breathe…!"

The blonde young woman supporting the young man looked back at Happy, "What is…oh." She smiled at the cute scene.

Haruki saved the poor cat in the end by swooping Akihiko up into her arms and forcing him to let go, "It's not safe to run off like that."

"But, Haru! That kitty is blue and it can talk!"

Haruki watched the cat gasp, greedily sucking in air, "It might be blue form lack of oxygen…did you just say it could talk?"

"Aye, I can talk! My name is Happy!"

Haruki stared at Happy, unable to fully comprehend what had just happened. Cats could talk now? Or was it just this one? What else had changed? Could it fly too?

"Um, okay. I'm Haruki and this is Akihiko. I'm sorry about him, he really likes animals, especially cats." She couldn't stop staring.

The girl, Lucy she remembered the cat calling her, smiled, "Don't worry, he's fine."

"That's good. I-is your friend alright?"

"Yeah, he's okay. He gets motion sick, but once we get off he'll be fine."

"O-oh. I have some medicine with me. A friend of mine has the same problem, but it doesn't help at all." It was true, they had found out rather quick Draco got motion sick.

"They probably won't work for Natsu. They haven't before," Lucy admitted.

"I see." Why was she so awkward right now? "Well I hope your friend doesn't get too motion sick." She gave a slight wave and hurried back to their compartment, sighing in relief as she sat down.

That was strange. She could talk normally to Izumi and the others, why couldn't she talk to those three? Maybe the shock of a talking, blue cat had overwhelmed her or something. Or maybe it was because she had just realized how much could have changed since her time. She's had no idea if a talking cat was normal now a days!

"Haru?"

"Yeah?"

"Can we get a cat like that?"

"…perhaps once we figure everything out."

"Yay!"

Haruki pinched the bridge of her nose. The last thing they needed was a talking cat. No offense to them, but she wouldn't be able to handle it. Her mind wouldn't be able to wrap around the idea of it. But she had to say something to his hopeful expression. Even if the idea made her head hurt. What else could be found in this time?

Haruki, where is hoe now?" Akihiko broke her out of her inner panic.

"I'm not sure. But we'll find somewhere to go. I promise."

-Line Break-

The train lurched to a stop and woke Haruki from her brief nap. She yawned, disappointed to realize they weren't yet at Magnolia. Instead they had stopped at a little town, the name of which she didn't know. Draco seemed to however.

"You're…up. Good. We switch…trains…here." Draco stood, a little wobbly still.

"It is?" Haruki followed his example, except she was steadier on her feet.

"Yes, now get up and off this thing. We don't want to…miss…the next train, young one."

"Right, right." Haruki made her way out of the compartment, the backpack Izumi had given her slung over her shoulder and map in hand.

Unfortunately, luck decided to abandon her today. Almost as soon as she stepped off the train, someone bumped into her and knocked the map out of her hand. The map wouldn't have gone far, if not for the wind carrying it away.

"Oh no." Haruki raced after it, desperate to catch it.

Then, more bad luck. Today just wasn't her day. Haruki tripped and the bag slipped off her shoulder, falling a little ways away as she caught herself. Only, she didn't grab the bag fast enough. A small hand grabbed the bag and ran off with it, causing Haruki to curse. She needed that! It had all the money and the extra clothes she brought with! And the map…

Making a quick decision, she chased after the thief. She could probably get another map. Money would be more of a problem. Without any money, she couldn't buy a train ticket. And that meant she had to either get more money or walk there and both would take more time than she wanted to spend.

"That's my bag! Give it back! Draco the bag…Draco?" Aware now that the Celestial Spirit wasn't following, she turned her head to catch a glimpse of him lying on the ground.

Sensing no help from him, she turned to look straight ahead. And black filled her vision as she hit what felt like a brick wall. Her sunglasses fell of as she landed on her butt, leaving her half-blinded by the light. Cursing luck, she managed to find her sunglasses and, upon putting them on, realized she had run into a person. A tall, intimidating person with blonde hair and a lightning shaped scar over his right eye.

"U-um sorry. I didn't mean to run into you, it's just someone stole my bag and it had everything in there and…" Crap!

Haruki peeked around the man, but saw no sign of the thief. Izumi would likely kill her. The word 'failure' echoed in her head. She had no way to get to Magnolia now. Well, no way as fast as the train. Unless…would Draco be willing to fly there? If she rested for a day, she would have enough magic to keep him around that long. Finding a good place to rest without money would be a problem, however.

"That's just great. Um, sorry again, but I need to get going." She was about to push herself onto her feet when a hand entered her sight.

With a little hesitation, she took his had to let him help her up. A blush stained her pale cheeks as she got a good look at the man. He was handsome, she had to give him that, and looked to be around her age. No, wait, she couldn't think that. She had a mission to do. This man was not part of it. Though, that was hard to think while he was staring at her.

"Your bag had all of your belongings?"

He was talking to her. "Y-yeah. Money and everything. Guess I'll need to find another way to Magnolia." She rubbed the back of her neck nervously.

"Follow me." He walked back towards the station, leaving her to warily do as he said.

She wasn't sure what he planned to do. The thief had gone the other way, though right now all she could do was follow this man or go find the map which had vanished by this time. Then again, she could have Lupus hunt down the thief. Mentally smacking herself for not thinking of that earlier, she hardly noticed when the man stopped and she unconsciously stopped to keep from running into him again. Lupus would have caught up to the thief in no time.

"I need one ticket to Magnolia."

What? Haruki stared more at the man in disbelief. Had he just bought a ticket for her, a complete stranger? How did he know she hadn't been lying? All those thoughts were silenced as he turned to hand the ticket to her.

"Why?" She grew even redder at how rude that might have sounded.

"Because you look like you really need to get there." A simple answer that warmed her heart.

"Thank you. Is there anything I can do to repay you, Mr…?"

"Laxus," he supplied. "And don't worry about it."

This man was too kind. "Are you sure?" At is nod, she held out a hand. "Thank you very much, Mr. Laxus. You have no idea how important this is to me. My name is Haruki and someday I will repay you for your kindness. That is a promise."

His hand engulfed hers and he met her eyes with a smirk. The moment lasted for a few seconds, then he kept go and walked away. Her golden eyes rested on him when she felt something in her hand and glanced down, her eyes nearly bugging out of her head at what she saw. That man had slipped quite a few jewels to her during their handshake. How had she not noticed?! Now she owed him even more.

"Didn't I tell you no boyfriends until they pass my tests first?" Draco came up, fully recovered from his motion sickness.

Haruki flashed him a sour look, "I don't have a boyfriend. And where were you a few moments ago?"

It was his turn to glare, "You know exactly what happened. Let's just get in the next torture vehicle and go. We can try to find the bag at a time when we aren't racing against Shadows and Fallen."

"Yes, sir."

"Don't call me sir"

-Line Break-

Lucy, Natsu, and Happy got off the train two towns later. They had promised to meet up with Erza at a new bakery that people had been praising for its cakes. Especially its strawberry and carrot cakes. Insisting that they should all go, eventually even Gray had been…persuaded to go with. Persuasion using a small amount of intimidation and a tiny bit of black mail. They wasted no time in finishing their mission and meeting their friends there.

So now, Erza was eating a large slice of strawberry cake, Natsu and Happy were devouring their own food, and Lucy was explaining to Gray and Erza what had happened yesterday. Both were concerned and admitted to having no knowledge on the creature.

"Maybe it came with us from Edolas?" Gray suggested.

"It could have, but wouldn't we have heard of it by now then?" Lucy pointed out. "It has been 7 years since that happened."

"Someone at the guild may know," Erza added in. "And it may not show up often."

"That's true," Lucy murmured.

At that moment Natsu wrinkled his nose in disgust, "Its back."

"What is?"

"That smell from earlier, but it's really faint." Natsu sat back. "It really messes with my appetite."

"Does that mean the creature is nearby?" Erza's eyes narrowed.

"No, it's too faint for it to be nearby." Natsu went back to his food.

"And hopefully it'll stay that way."

Lucy jumped. "Loke?"

"Yeah. Sorry about leaving so suddenly. I needed to tell the Spirit King something important." He leaned against the wall beside their table.

"What did you…?"

Loke interrupted her, "Listen, if any of you see that creature again, I need you to promise to stay away from it."

"Why?" Gray questioned uneasily, eyes taking in how haggard their friend looked.

"Because, it's something that's shouldn't be here." He was paler than normal, they all realized. "Please, trust me."

"Loke, are you okay?" Lucy made to stand when Loke pushed himself off the wall and swayed slightly.

"Yeah, you look really sick." Happy piped up, concerned for the Spirit.

"I'm fine, just a little tired." He gave them a weary smile. "I've forgotten how draining it can be to fight those things."

Without another word, he vanished back to the Spirit World. Lucy, Erza, and Gray wondered what was wrong with him while Natsu sniffed the air again, confused. Why had Loke vaguely smelt like that creature?

-Line break…again-

Lost. She was going to get so lost. Haruki couldn't believe how large Magnolia was, much more used to small towns like where she had formerly lived. Places like these, there were far too many strangers. Any of them could be like that thief. Some could be the same as Laxus too, a small voice whispered in the back of her mind. And she agreed, some could, but how would she know? People do lie and she wasn't the best at reading people.

A sigh escaped. Why had they chosen her again? This time was a mystery with very few familiar things. And she had no map. So, how would she know where to begin her search? Tugging on the bottom of her shirt drew her attention down to the boy beside her. Ursa Minor had asked to accompany her when she got to Magnolia, using Akihiko to plead his case. He stood beside her now in his bear costume, amber eyes shining as he pointed towards a candy shop. Of course he found one, she thought.

"Please! Please! There's candy!"

"I know, but we don't have that many jewels and we need food and to find a place to rent a room." Crap, he's using the sad eyes, Haruki groaned internally.

"But I'll share with Akihiko!"

She tried to resist him, she really did, "Fine, but only two piece of candy. Okay?"

"Yay!" Ursa Minor, or Kohaku as she called him, made a beeline for the store, too impatient to wait for Haruki.

Someday she would be able to resist him and Akihiko. Someday, but not today. Probably not tomorrow either. The next day she might have a slim chance. After the small detour, she searched for Fairy Tail, unwilling to ask a complete stranger for directions yet. Which would have been a good idea. She ended up going in circles for hours before asking a random old man.

"Excuse me, but I there any place nearby that I can stay at for a cheap price? And can you tell me where Fairy Tail is? I'm new here and totally lost." She explained.

He did eventually give her directions after asking numerous questions about why she wanted to know where Fairy Tail is and then advising her to be careful when she walked into the guild. Something about how they were a little rowdy sometimes. First, Haruki managed to find the hotel with Kohaku's help. Then they set out for Fairy Tail.

Only to get lost once more.

"Why does this always happen?" She whimpered, cursing her luck as they trudged back in the middle of the night to the hotel.

"Well, Lupus said it's because you have a terrible sense of direction." Kohaku laughed, unbothered by the Celestial Wizard's misfortune.

 **A/N: So, how did you guys like it? I hope no one was too OOC and if they were please tell me. Any advice I can get for this would be very appreciated! Any who, see you guys next time and please review!**


	5. Apologies!

**A/N: I'm so sorry everyone but this isn't an update. So, recently college started and I have a job, but I do have a bit of time at some point in the morning for now that I can write. Unfortunately, my USB has disappeared. It had everything on it, from stories to all my characters and ideas. I've searched for it and have had no luck so far, but I haven't given up hope. So, I guess I'm going to put certain stories on hold and others might be rewritten. Hopefully I'll find my USB soon and I am so sorry that I haven't updated in a long time. Well, have a good rest of the day everyone and I'll put updates in my bio if anything changes.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hey everyone so I decided to go and rewrite this story. So far I have only two chapters written as of now and I have posted the first one. I still won't have a specific posting schedule, but I'm hoping to at least once a month now that I know most of what I want to do with this story. I hope you all like it! Please leave some feedback in the reviews if you would like to! Anyways, the rewrite is called Of The Fallen and Shadows!  
**


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